Former minister David Duguid not selected to stand in election

Former Scotland Office minister David Duguid has said he has not been selected to stand for the Conservatives at the general election.

In a post on social media he said the party had informed him his name will not be put forward as its candidate in the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East constituency.

Mr Duguid has recently suffered ill-health and spent four weeks in the intensive care unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary due to an illness affecting his spine.

A spokesman for the Scottish Conservatives said the decision had been made on health grounds.

Mr Duguid said on X, formerly known as Twitter, he had been “looking forward to campaigning” for the election and his recovery was well on schedule.

He said: “Notwithstanding this, and despite my having been adopted by our local members, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party has informed me tonight that they have decided not to put me forward as their chosen candidate for Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.”

Mr Duguid had been the MP for Banff and Buchan since 2017. His election marked the end of 30 years of SNP representation in the area.

He served as secretary of state for Scotland from June 2020 until September 2021 and then again from September to October 2022.

Following a review of boundaries, the seat was expanded to include parts of Moray and renamed Aberdeenshire North and Moray East.

However, Mr Duguid was widely expected to be reselected to stand for the new constituency.

A spokesperson for the Scottish Conservatives said: “David Duguid is unfortunately unable to stand in this election. David has been an excellent MP and great local representative for the last seven years.

“We thank David for all his hard work for the party, we look forward to his recovery to full health, and hope that he will want to rejoin frontline politics in the future.”

Mr Duguid first shared news of his illness in May after having been in hospital for six weeks.

He has not shared full details of his condition but confirmed it has affected his spine and he also contracted pneumonia.

He spent a number of weeks in hospital in Aberdeen before being transferred to the high dependency unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where he remains in a rehabilitation ward.

Mr Duguid previously took to social media to express a “huge debt of gratitude” to hospital staff who “stabilised” his condition.

He had acknowledged that he would not be able to campaign in the usual style such as “knocking on doors and leafletting” but thanked his team and local volunteers for their “commitment to securing” his re-election.

In many this news was inevitable, writes BBC Scotland Westminster Correspondent David Porter.

David Duguid has been very seriously ill for some time and although now recovering many doubted he would be able to cope with the rigours of a campaign and, if elected, life as an MP.

In his post he points out he has been adopted by his association, but says he has been ‘’informed’’ by the Scottish Conservatives that his name will not be put forward as their candidate for the Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat.

In effect, he has been deselected.

Tonight the party thanked him for his hard work and said it hoped he would rejoin frontline politics in future.

It’s understood Mr Duguid still remains in hospital.

A new candidate for the seat will be chosen by Friday when nominations close.